Search This Blog

Saturday, October 8, 2016

WPR Articles Sept. 30 — Oct. 7

WPR Articles Sept. 30 — Oct. 7

Should
the United States use military means to try to stop Syrian and Russian
forces from massacring the civilian population of Aleppo? If the answer
to that question is no, then what level of atrocity is the U.S., and the
world, willing to tolerate in Syria—and elsewhere—before intervening?

In
August, reports emerged that South Sudanese soldiers had attacked
foreign aid workers during a July rampage in Juba, raping several women.
The attack reflected the systemic failure to safeguard foreign aid
workers who seem to have followed every single security protocol, yet
were left unprotected.

In
the aftermath of the Brexit vote, European leaders have stressed the
need for greater EU defense cooperation, which could reduce
inefficiencies and improve defense coordination. But critics of the plan
accuse the EU of competing with NATO and say the bloc is trying to
become a “superstate.”

Brazil’s
left-wing Workers’ Party was confronted with a new political reality
when it was soundly defeated in local elections earlier this week. While
local politics are not always a bellwether for national politics in
Brazil, the vote still highlighted two new trends from a shift in voter
behavior.

The
race to be the new U.N. secretary-general is almost over. The eventual
winner may end up envying the losers, and find that success tastes very
bitter: The selection process to succeed Ban Ki-moon is culminating
during the worst institutional crisis the Security Council has seen
since the Iraq war.

Earlier
this month, Guinea-Bissau’s political factions agreed to a six-point
roadmap to form a consensus government and end more than a year of
deadlock. But the ambitious deal is unlikely to overcome the deep
divisions within Guinea-Bissau’s parliament or address the fundamental
drivers of instability.

In
this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein,
and host Peter Dörrie discuss discrimination against women, politics in
Guinea-Bissau, and Syrian refugees’ right to work. For the Report,
Ernest Nti Acheampong joins us to talk about young entrepreneurs in
Africa.

Since
the collapse last week of a short-lived cease-fire that was brokered by
the United States and Russia, the forces of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, backed by Russian jets, have attempted to retake the
rebel-controlled eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo with unusually brutal
force, even for this war.

The
Dutch parliament voted last week to cut the Netherlands’ greenhouse gas
emissions by 55 percent by 2030, a move that requires closing the
country’s five remaining coal-fired power plants. In an email interview,
Pier Vellinga discusses the Netherland’s climate change policy.

America’s
conflict with violent Islamic extremism will require a
multigenerational effort. One initiative could help steel national will
for that fight, reinforce a sense of shared national purpose, and shrink
the pool of young Americans willing to become terrorists: universal
national service.

Last
month, China launched the world’s first quantum satellite, which is
designed to establish “hack-proof” communications between space and the
ground, with major implications for security and defense policy. In an
email interview, Taylor Owen and Robert Gorwa discuss quantum
technology.

Good
economic news out of the Caribbean has been few and far-between in the
aftermath of the global financial crisis. Yet now Jamaica is
unexpectedly transitioning into a pattern of solid, sustainable growth,
thanks to deeper reforms imposed by the International Monetary Fund,
rather than foreign aid.

On Sunday,
Colombians narrowly rejected in a referendum a peace deal with leftist
FARC rebels, raising questions about what the future holds for a country
that has been fighting the guerrilla movement for 52 years. Both sides’
ongoing commitment to peace is a good sign, but the next steps are
unknown.

Morocco
is the only Arab country with regular, competitive elections and where
the success of an Islamist party, the PJD, has not stoked instability.
But the monarchy’s commitment to political reform, on display in
Friday’s parliamentary elections, is balanced by fears of the PJD’s
rising power.

Germany
continues to face challenges as it copes with a massive influx of
refugees. Asylum-seekers, often living in temporary housing or poor
conditions, are at the mercy of overwhelmed authorities. As they
languish in limbo, some have become nostalgic for the war zone they
fled. Germany can do better.

A
“less is more” approach seems to be emerging over how to improve the
outcomes of international interventions. It reflects the disappointing
track record of past efforts. But it’s also an expression of the crisis
of confidence in Western countries about their ability to make the world
a better place.

A
recent report by Human Rights Watch criticized Nepal’s record on child
marriage. Thirty-seven percent of girls marry before age 18, and while
the government has pledged to end child marriage, it has taken few steps
to achieve this goal. In an email interview, Claire Naylor discusses
women’s right in Nepal.

Montenegro goes to the polls Oct. 16,
when Milo Djukanovic will almost certainly be re-elected for a seventh
term as prime minister. The country is expected to join NATO next year
and is in pole position to become the EU’s next member. But are both
blocs ignoring Montenegro’s domestic problems?

Last
month, the Seychelles’ president, James Michel, resigned after his
political party, Parti Lepep, lost parliamentary elections. Vice
President Danny Faure will be sworn in later this month to complete the
remainder of Michel’s five-year term. In an email interview, Yolanda
Sadie discussed politics in the Seychelles.

The
international community celebrated the peace agreement between Colombia
and the FARC insurgency before it was a done deal. It is now making the
same mistake again, grieving the death of peace after Sunday’s failed referendum. In fact, the chances for a peace deal in Colombia still look promising.

In
this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s senior editor, Frederick
Deknatel, and host Peter Dörrie discuss the cost of U.S. inaction in
Aleppo, the attack on aid workers in South Sudan, and Germany’s struggle
to integrate refugees. For the Report, Richard Gowan talks about the
challenges facing the U.N.

One
of the mantras of the U.S. Marine Corps is that every Marine is first
and foremost a rifleman, regardless of their actual occupational
specialty. This idea “warrior mindset” has become so deeply ingrained in
the American military that it is seldom discussed or analyzed. But it
should be.

Since
Rodrigo Duterte was elected president of the Philippines earlier this
year, he has staked out a drastically different approach to Manila’s
relations with the U.S.—or at least, he appears to have, based on his
bombastic rhetoric. But from courting China to buying Russian arms, what
does he really plan to do?

Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani was in Vietnam this week as part of a
three-nation tour of Southeast Asia. Rouhani and Vietnamese President
Tran Dai Quang agreed to work toward the goal of boosting trade to $2
billion. In an email interview, John Calabrese discusses Iran’s outreach
to Southeast Asia.

In
late August, Turkey launched Euphrates Shield, a cross-border military
operation into northern Syria, which so far has achieved its initial
goals, including pushing ISIS away from the Turkish border. But
questions remain about Turkey’s longer-term exit strategy and plans for
territory taken from ISIS.